Tips on decorating your nursery

Planning the nursery together is a great way to involve your partner in your pregnancy. Our DIY, style and shopping tips will help you transform a room into your baby’s nursery.

Putting together your baby’s nursery can be one of the most enjoyable parts of pregnancy – choosing the colours, designing the layout – and of course, all the shopping for cute baby things.

Here are some suggestions on how to decorate the room along with ideas of what to put in it.

Got grand designs?

Keep it simple. When it comes to decorating, bear in mind that your child will only be a baby for a very short time, so go easy on the floor-to-ceiling pastel pink, bows or cute wallpaper.

Your little one will very soon have his own tastes and opinions so, unless you’re a DIY fanatic or best friends with an interior designer, it’s best to go for a room scheme that will be easy to change as your child grows.

Peel-off stickers are great for temporarily brightening up walls and can be changed quickly without having to redo the whole room.

Don’t forget to look up! Your baby will spend a lot of his time lying on his back so make sure you give him something fun to gaze at.

A brightly-coloured mobile that attaches to the cot is a good choice for stimulating his senses.

Black and white pictures of shapes and patterns placed where they can be easily seen.

Invest in a blackout blind to block out the light – this will help to encourage good sleep habits.

Finally, don’t forget to put in a dimmer switch – low-level lighting is ideal for night feeds and will make sure you don’t crash into something when you’re leaving the room after you’ve spent two hours getting him to sleep!

Sleeping Safely

Follow these simple tips to make sure your little one sleeps soundly – and safely.

Babies need to be warm – but not hot, so you’ll need a room thermometer to keep a check on the room temperature, which should be kept at between 16-20°C at all times (18°C is the ideal temperature).

Your baby’s bedding should be a mix of sheets and light-weight blankets so you can easily add or remove a layer as required. Duvets and pillows are not suitable for babies under one year. Cot bumpers are unnecessary at any age.

Your baby should sleep in your room for the first six months. You should always place your baby on his back and in the ‘feet to foot’ position to go to sleep – i.e. with his feet at the bottom of the cot or Moses basket – this way he won’t be able to shuffle down under the covers.

Get back to basics

When it comes to choosing your cot, it’s worth picking one with a drop side so you don’t strain your back bending over to pick up your baby.

For the same reason, it’s good to have a choice of mattress positions which can be adjusted as your baby grows. Cot beds are a nice idea – but if money is an issue, financially you’re better off buying a simple cot and then a normal single bed later on.

If you get your cot second-hand, always check for flaky paint or splinters and make sure the drop side locking mechanism is in good order. The gap between the side rails should be no greater than 6.5cm (21/2 ins), so there’s no risk of your baby’s head being caught between them.

Always buy a new cot mattress, which should fit snugly within the cot – any gaps around the sides should be no bigger than 4cm (1.5in).

A specialised changing table is a great idea if you have the cash, but they can be expensive.

A wide chest of drawers that comes up to elbow height can make an equally good place to change your baby – and will provide storage for when your child is older. Remember, never leave your baby unattended on a changing surface – he could easily roll off and be seriously hurt.

For storage, always choose solid shelves or drawers that won’t be easily pulled over by toddlers – or fix them to the walls. Baby clothes may look lovely on open shelves or rails, but chests of drawers and cupboards will keep them dust-free.

As you’ll spend most of your time in the first few months feeding your baby, make sure you pick a chair that is really comfortable. Choose one that has arms and supports your back – your feet should always be flat on the floor.

Nursery DIY – dos and don’ts

DO fix rugs down firmly to the floor and keep all flexes out of the way so you can’t trip over them.
DO put new carpet down and paint the room at least three months before your baby’s due to arrive to make sure that the nursery is fume-free.
DO make sure that all the paint you use is non-toxic – look for one that says it has low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) on the tin.
DON’T strip paint if there’s a chance it dates back to 1965 or earlier, as the lead in old paint could be harmful to your unborn baby. (Stay well out of the way if someone else is stripping it, too.)
DON’T ever climb up ladders when you’re pregnant – you could easily over balance, fall and hurt yourself.